Stay here with me
by theblacklister23
Summary: Set after [2.08] Liz has accepted her life. She has mixed emotions whirling throughout her mind and needs someone.
1. Chapter 1

As I walk out the door of the ship where I had held my ex-"husband" for over 4 months, I felt as though a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. A week ago I was in utter denial that I was in love with him. I truly did love the man who was placed into my life. Even a day ago I was in love with him. 2 hours ago I was in love with the man. As I stepped out the door into the crisp autumn air it was as if I left out love behind and started a new chapter in my life. Although I am leaving all of that behind I still am faced with a wave of emotions. As I hop into my black SUV I break down. I have no home. No family. No one to go home to at night to ask how my day was. The only person I can consider a friend in this point of my life is Ressler.

Ressler was a man who really kept to himself, especially about his personal life. I try to do the same, but when you only have one person in your life to talk to, that you trust, once in a while I will talk to him. After Tom left and I found out Red killed my father, I went to him in need of a friend. It actually made me feel better. I could really use him now. I could use him just as much as he could probably use me.

Ressler has been through a lot, between Audrey and his whole situation with his drug problem, he may need me. I have always thought of him as more than a partner. I wish he knew this, hell he thought I wouldn't care if we lost him to the Scimitar.

So I drive to where I know I know I need to go for myself.

As I approach his apartment and try to wipe the bleeding mascara from my eyes so I don't look too much of a mess, I take a deep breath and knock on his door.

Trying to concentrate on some television, hoping to relax and let the stress of these few weeks pass has been difficult. I hadn't used in a couple of weeks, and it's starting to become easier, I wanna kick this in the ass to prove to Liz that I can do this without any help. I keep replaying the words that were spoken to me from her after I tried to make some joke about me dying and no one caring, "It was".

As that echoed in my brain I hear a knock at the door, and ironically it was her.

"Liz are you alright" I say seeing she has been crying. Liz doesn't cry often she's a strong woman but I can see somethings off.

"I didn't want to be alone" she said sniffling from the tears.

"Come in and sit" I was eager to find out what was wrong, I swear if it was that jerk Tom again I will slit his throat.

As she sat herself down on my couch I got her a beer from the fridge.

"Thank you" she said with a tiny smile.

"So do you want to talk?" I say hoping she will so I can try to help make her feel better.

I sit next to her on my couch in my small living room, the TV was muted.

"So as weird as it is that I am crying, I actually haven't felt this good in almost a year now. I finally felt that I was over Tom or whatever his damn name is. I know it seems weird and very cheesy, but I feel like when I left the ship tonight, it was like I left every feeling I had for him behind. Red had actually helped me feel a little better but all I know is I never want to see Tom Keen again" she said with a smile on her face.

"Just why the fuck did he have to do that to me, why did he have to be placed in my life? " she says this trying to hold back tears again, then I do something I didn't even expect myself to do, I pulled her in to hug her.

I don't want to see her upset. "shh it's okay, I'm here"

I didn't expect myself to start crying again,

Most of all I didn't expect Ressler to hug me.

But I hugged him back anyways, putting my head into his chest crying it out.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you never see him again, and if he trys to come even a mile near you I will take care of him myself." Ressler said in a stern, serious voice.

I didn't realize how defensive he would get for me; it was actually kind of sweet.

"Ressler, thank you for everything, I'm truly thankful to have you in my life." I say calmly as I smile up to his blue eyes as I'm still in his embrace.

"We're really all we have got. We have eachother that it really it. I am also truly thankful for you, you saved me from a path that probably would kill me." Ressler said

I was not use to Ressler being this open about his emotions. I smile again to him and he smiles back, I break the embrace and the awkwardness.

We sit and talk for a while just about life. I finally look at the digital clock on the cable box and it's close to midnight.

"I probably should head home, it's late…" I say as I get up and go to grab for my coat when Ressler's hand reaches for mine.

"No stay, I know you don't wanna be alone and frankly I don't want you to be either" he said smiling as he stood in front of me, not even a foot away. He did something in a million years I never would have guessed he would ever do.

He kissed me, his lips pressing against mine as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Kissing her was like a breeze of fresh air. My lips pressing hard against her soft ones. We both released the kiss and smiled at each other.

"I need you… I need you here with me" I say feeling vulnerable for saying it.

She puts a soft kiss on my lips, "I need you too" she says "I want you, I want us, but I don't want to rush this either."

"I don't either, you look tired you should get some rest, you can take my bed I can take the couch"

I walked her to my bedroom passing her one of my over-sized t-shirts. As she went to get dressed in the bathroom, it hit me. I started smiling to myself, a wave of happiness has hit me and I haven't felt like this since Audrey.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she hopped up in my bed, "goodnight, Liz" I smile saying.

"Wait stay here with me" she says softly. I walk over to the other side of the bed and hop in. She smiles and kisses my forehead. She wraps he arm around me and we slowly drift off to sleep together in each other's arms.

'


	2. Chapter 2

As I awake I realize I am still tangled in his embrace. He is still softly sleeping, his face so relaxed and he looks so calm. I lean over and place a kiss on his lips to show him I am up. He opens his eyes and kisses me back.

"Morning" he says yawning and stretching his arms.

"Good Morning" I say smiling at him.

I cannot believe how happy I feel. I have never felt like this in my life. Tom never made me feel this way.

I look at the time and realize that if we don't get up now we will be late for work. Ressler grabs us coffee and we fly out the door so I would have enough time to return to the hotel I have been calling home to dress into something different from yesterday. I don't want people to get any ideas from my wearing the same thing two days in a row, especially if I am driving in with Ressler.

I run back to the car wearing my black and white striped blouse and my black blazer along with black jeans and boots. As I get into the car I don't even have time to buckle when Ressler says, "You are not living here anymore".

"It's not that bad" I say smirking at him

"After work pack your things your moving in with me, I don't care I'm not having you live in cheap motels around the state" Ressler said sternly.

"Ress you don't have to do that…"

"I want to" he said smiling then kissing me as I blushed.

I have always known Liz Keen was a beautiful woman but today she is more stunning than ever, I have never seen her this filled with life and so happy. Is it from me? Did I cause her happiness? She sure caused mine.

Throughout the day there really was not much investigation. No new blacklister to find, basically just paperwork.

At around Lunch time Liz, Aram, Cooper, and I were just discussing some business when Red walked in.

"Lizzy, Donald I need to see you both, how about lunch? It's on me we can go to my favorite diner just about 4 miles away."

I exchange a look with Liz, thinking to myself what does he want?

I have often wondered what Raymond Reddington is to Liz. Is he her father or something? Whatever it is it's a mystery even to Liz.

We hop into his car, Dembe and Red in the front and Liz and I in the back.

The car ride was fairly quiet; Liz and I exchanged smiles and looks.

As we arrived at the diner, it was empty. We walked in and grabbed a table. Ordered drinks then lunch. As we were waiting for our food Red says, "So how was your little sleepover last night?"

Liz looks at him in shock and blushes.

"How the hell do you know that?" I say utterly confused and angry.

Ignoring the question Red says, "Well Lizzy, Donald here is a man I approve of, unlike Tom."

Liz lets out a chuckle and a smile and says "Um, okay?"

"I approve of him mostly because I know he will most certainly protect you and keep you out of harm's way, I trust him with your life." Red says

I am flattered, this man whose relationship to Liz is quite unknown, yet would stop anything from hurting this woman trusts me with her life.

"Thank you Red" I say and smile. I rarely like anything this man has to say but that statement really made me feel good about myself.

Later that day Ressler and I headed to my hotel and packed up my clothes. Then we headed back to his apartment picking up a pizza on our way there.

We ate and watched the football game on the TV.

After dinner we put on a movie from Netflix, I went to throw on my PJs in the bathroom. I wore an oversized tee I owned that cut off mid-thigh.

I got out and Ressler was already asleep in the bed. I hopped in next to him kissed his head and fell asleep laying on his chest listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

When I awoke to the sun-rise realizing it was the weekend and I didn't have to go to work I was happy. I left a note for Liz and headed out to go plan a surprise date for her.

I went to a local store that sold clothing and went on a search for a dress for Liz to wear. I bought her a blue dress that was knee length. I purchased a tie relatively the same color. I bought her black heels. I snooped around the apartment this morning through her clothes to find her sizes. This is going to be perfect.

I messaged Red to set up dinner reservations at the nicest place around. I got back to my apartment where Liz was now showering and hid the clothes I had bought in my closet.

When she got out of the bathroom and got dressed in casual attire I asked if she would like to go for a picnic in the park.

"I would love to!" she said, it was nice to see her in normal clothes rather than business attire. We hopped into my car and drove about 20 minutes to our first destination.

_  
>it was a perfect fall day for a picnic.<p>

The cool air was a little chilly so I wore my jacket and scarf. We strolled around the park for over an hour then ate sandwiches in the grass.

"This was really sweet of you Ressler." I said

"You do realize that you don't have to call me Ressler when we are not working, especially if we are on a date. Please call me Don or Donald" he said laughing.

"Ooo we're on a date, _Donald_?" I say giggling

"Yes part one of our date" he says smirking handsomely

When we finished we continued to walk around the city stopping in and out of shops and looking through store windows. Christmas was about two months away and the stores were all set up for it.

"I love the holidays. The music, movies, smells, sounds, I love it all. It reminds me of being a child." I say sounding like a little kid

"I enjoy Christmas a lot too, the past few have been quite lonely, but I usually go to meet my family up at their winter cabin in the woods. We usually only go there for vacations and holidays. I go up there by myself a lot to fish." Don says

"That's nice, are you close with your family?" I say hoping I don't say something I shouldn't

"Not as much as I would like to be, I have a sister but she's married and I have a nephew I would like to see more often. With work it's hard. My parents I miss a lot too. Yet every time I see them they nag me about finding a girlfriend to bring home. I haven't seen them much since Audrey passed because of that but I do miss them, they mean well. Maybe I can introduce you to them sometime" he says grinning

"I would love that" I say, I wish Sam was around to see this, he would love Don.

"Do you have any other family around?" he says carefully

"No Sam was all I truly had" I say looking down

As we are walking side by side he entwines his hand into mine and I smile.

We approach a car and Dembe and Red are in the front.

"Hop in your chariot waits" Red exclaims

"Well hi there" I say laughing confused

We hop into the vehicle to the backseat. Hands still entwined as we get back to Don's place. I unbuckle my seatbelt and Don says "Go inside I will wait out here."

Confused I walk inside and there is a box wrapped in red ribbon. I open it carefully and pull out a royal blue dress and read the note along with it;

"Liz, here is a dress for you to wear of part two of our date. Along with it are some shoes so you can at least be able to reach me when I kiss you goodnight. I will see you tonight at 7:30pm. – Don"

Smiling I hug the dress. I hear the car speed away and hear a voice behind me. It is Red.

"What a lovely dress. It will look stunning with your eyes." Red says

I smile back at him and head into the bedroom to get dressed. I pull half of my hair back. I put on some mascara and some lipstick then my shoes. I enter the living room where I had last left Red.

"You look breath-taking Lizzy, Donald will love it, let's go meet him for dinner" Red says.

I see Red's car approach the front door of the restaurant. Liz hops out. My breath is taken away. She walks towards me and waves goodbye to Red and Dembe, I nod thanking them.

"Elizabeth you look Absolutely, Stunningly, Beautiful!" I say

"You clean up quite nice yourself Donald" Liz says blushing.

I kiss her cheek and grab her arm and entwine it with my own. We are seated to our dinner.

It was a beautiful night. Dinner was so delicious. After the check came inside there was a note:

"Dinner will be on me tonight, cheers to the future for both you and Lizzy. Take care of her Donald like I expect you will. I booked you a night in a 5 star hotel down the road. Have fun- Red"

"Wow Red bought the dinner and booked us a night at the fanciest hotel in the state!" I exclaimed

"Oh my! He did? Wow! Liz exclaimed

We got to the hotel by limo courtesy of Mr. Reddington. It was super classy and very expensive looking. Don checked us in and we went up to the room. The view was amazing. There was a king size bed and beside it was a giant bottle of champagne. Don poured some.

"To us" he said

"To us!" I said

Minutes after we were kissing, more than kissing at this point. Our bodies moving closer and closer together and passion filled the air. Soon after we were unbuttoning the dress he bought me and I was taking off his suit and tie. We became one as we went on. Before it was over I whispered in his ear, "I love you…" then we drifted off into sleep.

She was beautiful. Last night was the best night that I have ever experienced. I finally had everything I have ever needed. I woke up to the most beautiful woman in the world laying on me. The only thing we were wearing were the sheets we were wrapped in each other's arms. This beautiful woman was all of mine to have. I kissed the hair on her head, and she looked up and planted a big kiss on my lips. I looked at her into the eyes and whispered what I should have said last night, "I love you too".

A tear rolled from her eyes, I wiped it with my thumb. "What's wrong?" I say worried.

"Happy tears, I love you so much and I want to remember this moment forever and ever" Liz said teary eyed.

I just cupped her face with my hands and kissed her. I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. I want to protect her, and keep her safe. I want to love her. Kiss her then kiss her again, and again. Our love was so pure and I couldn't wait to see where it led us next.

"Want to check out of here and go get some coffee?" I say

"Sure" she says as she crawls out of the giant bed

We packed up and drove to the nearest Starbucks coffee. We both ordered warm drinks on this cool Sunday afternoon. We headed back to my apartment and hung around the rest of the day. Together.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone! Really glad you are all liking this fanfic! I Love the blacklist! I will upload everyother day for now!_

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The weeks that had passed were quite eventful. Red handed us the latest Blacklister, a man who he used to be allies with but some financial differences had ended their so called "friendship". Red didn't have friends. So Red obviously wanted this guy captured. He was killing anyone associated with Red and that is why the government had to step in. The man's name was Ronald Matthews. He was out to kill anyone, especially our task force.

Thanksgiving was a week away and I was truly hoping to live to see it. This is a lot of pressure and gives a great deal of anxiety to me, because I don't want to lose another co-worker especially one I loved, Don.

It's currently Friday and we have been assigned to be on lockdown, one similar to the Anslo Garrick situation, yet the intruders are not inside, yet…

Don and I stayed close together hiding; all service to contact anyone outside the facility was gone.

Don and I's relationship wasn't a secret, but we definitely kept professional about it in work. I was surprised Cooper was happy when he asked us if we were in a relationship and we said yes. He said we needed each other, and thought it would have happened sooner.

"What was that?" I say in pure panic

"I don't know, follow me" Don says in a whisper.

I hear a gunshot and some screams

"They're inside" Don says trying to remain calm but I can see the pure panic on his face.

We hear more screams and they are getting closer. We hide and before we can catch our breath we hear something terrifying.

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"Well, well, well… Reddington's princess and her prince charming." Ronald Matthews says laughing hysterically.

I look to Liz who is now in pure shock. He grabs her and punches me. No I think please don't take her. Who knows what this man will do to her.

Reddington was in the box we were in when he saved my leg. I need to get him out of there to help me find Liz.

"Liz has been taken" I say breathing heavily and out of breath, blood was dripping out of my nose from the punch.

"By who, who has taken Elizabeth, Donald?" Red said sternly.

"Ronald Matthews" I say about to burst to tears but I held it together; I don't have time to cry.

"This man is an utter idiot, he is so easily readable and would only bring her one place." Red said

"Where…where is he taking her?" I say anxiously

"Her house, they call Ronald Matthews the 'house-sitter'; he will murder the victim in their own house and destroy everything of value." Red said

"So he's at our apartment?" I say confused

"Yes, Donald I need you to get me out of here and then we can go rescue Elizabeth." Red says

I let Red out and we escaped not knowing who else was left alive in there.

We arrived at my apartment and it looks as if we were just in time. We walk inside and Matthews has a gun pointed at Liz's face. She is sobbing and looks hurt.

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I sob and sob, this man has basically paralyzed be, he used the drug the Stewmaker had given me to paralyze me but keep sensitivity to pain. He was punching me and hitting me. I was so weak. I was bleeding a lot. The apartment had been destroyed and so was I. He kept saying "This is for Reddington! He wants to hurt my business I will go four steps farther and hurt his life."

I was tied up, slowly passing out from the pain when I look up in panic when this psychotic man had a gun to my head. I hear the door open and look in relief but fear also when I see Don. He's going to kill him. Matthews is highly intoxicated so maybe he would pass out of alcohol poisoning or something, anything to stop this madness.

I look at Don as I'm sobbing and shake my head sobbing more and more. One of us is going to die. Matthews turns and aims his gun at Don.

"Prrrincee Chaarmingggg you're heerree" Matthews says drunkishly.

I feel myself being untied and I hear a whispered familiar voice, "it's okay, Lizzy, It's me" Red say kissing my head.

Matthews aims for Don's chest and shoots, Don clearly wearing a bullet proof vest didn't stop him from shooting. Don falls to the floor from the pain of the impact. Then Red shoots and kills Matthews with three shots to the head.

I try to bring myself to get up to see Don, but I fall. Don jumps up to catch me as I sob and sob into his chest. I hear him saying "It's okay, it's all over, I am here. I am sorry. Liz stay with me! Liz open your eyes!" Liz I love you open your eyes." Sirens I hear sirens.

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I had a bruised chest from the shot, no real damage. I sat in the hospital chair for over 12 hours waiting to hear if Liz was okay.

"Mr. Ressler, we have some news on Elizabeth" The doctor says as I jump up.

"Yes, how is she? Is she awake?" I say worried.

"She will be fine. She passed out due to extreme shock from emotional trauma and physical. She suffered small concussion from most likely being hit from the attacker. She also will have many bruises and scars. She probably will be quite emotional from the shock. She will need you Mr. Ressler. She will be very weak and in quite some pain. I realize Thanksgiving is in a week, she will be able to participate but she needs to be treated gently. Here is a prescription for some pain killers for her pain." The doctor says to me.

"Thank you doctor" I say looking down at the prescription of the drug I dumped down for the woman it's prescribed to. The only positive thing about this is that they are making me sick even holding this, wishing I had never used in my life.

I walk into Liz's room where Red is by her bed. He gets up and says "She should be waking up soon Donald. You look exhausted. When she wakes up and you too can leave I had booked a few nights in the hotel you two stayed at a week ago, because you really have not much of an apartment left." He walked out before I could thank him tapping my shoulder with his hand.

I forgot about what happened to my apartment. Last thing I was worried about at the moment.

Liz groaned as her eyes fluttered open as I rushed to her side. She was pretty bruised up. I held her hand and whispered, "shh, it's okay, I'm here" and kissed her forehead.

She looked up at me with her blue eyes and started crying and hugged me. "Donnie, it hurt so bad." She was sobbing and screaming into my chest.

The nurse came in with the release papers and I signed them.

Liz was sleepy in the car. I heard my phone beep with a text from Dembe, saying Red had brought us clothes and left them in our hotel room.

We got there and Red was there checking us in while I tried to see if Liz was awake, she wasn't so I carried her up in my arms.

Gently laying her into the king sized bed and tucking her in. Red filled her prescription for me and then I hopped into bed next to her.

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I woke up screaming

"Shhh honey it's okay I am here, it was a dream." Don says as I lay in his arms crying and holding onto him.

"It hurt so bad, he hurt me so bad."I said sighing

"I can only imagine." Don says kissing me. "It's all over"

We stayed up the rest of the night talking about what had happened until I fell back asleep in his arms. It felt better to talk about it. My whole life I had kept things bottled up inside. The only person who I ever really opened up to was Sam. I miss Sam. It is almost like a blessing that Red came into my life. He knew me from my father. So without Red knowing my father, then turning himself into the FBI I would never have met Don. I love him so much. It is almost like my father brought him to me. He


	4. Chapter 4

Liz woke up late in the afternoon with a smile on her face. I kissed her cheek.

"Goodmorning, how are you feeling?" I say

"Much better, our talk really made me feel better. I am not in much pain either. I don't think I will need the pain medica…." She said probably remembering my problem from about a three or four months ago

"Liz, I am fine. I haven't used in over three and a half months and haven't had the urge to since then. Life is too precious to waste my time with that." I say smiling

"Don I am so proud of you" she says, as tears stream from her eyes. I reach for her face and kiss her, pressing my lips onto hers.

"I love you so much Liz. You are honestly the best thing I have ever had" I say kissing her again.

She throws herself on top of me, throwing off her t-shirt she was wearing, passionately kissing back. She rips off my shirt kissing every inch of my body. Her hands run up and down my chest, chilling every bone in my body. I run my hands up her back. Everywhere I put my hands I leave goosebumps on her soft skin. She runs her fingers through my hair gently pulling on it.

I felt as though my heart was exploding, in a good way. I kiss her neck and brush her hair with my fingers. "Don, I love you, I need you" she says collapsing into my chest.

"I love you too" I say kissing the top of her head.

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We woke up from a nap and I gathered my clothes and put them back on. Don was still sleeping, I quietly watched him. I received a call from Cooper, but took it in the lobby of the hotel so I would not wake Don.

I forgot almost everything that had happened before I was taken that day. Was everyone there alive? Did anyone die? I sure hope not.

"Hello," I say smiling

"Agent Keen, it's so good to hear your voice! How are you?" Cooper says

"I am great Cooper, how are you and the rest of the task force?" I say anxious to hear the answer

"Everyone is fine, no one on the task force was injured, the only injured were security that had wounds from Matthews' break-in to the post office." Cooper says and relives me from my stress.

"Oh great, when would you like me to get back to work?" I say

"I put you and Agent Ressler on a month paid vacation. After we heard that your apartment was destroyed and you were currently living in a hotel, we decided to give you time to A) Recover and B) find a place to live." Cooper says

"Wow, Cooper you really shouldn't. By the way who told you that we were living in a hotel? Together?" I question

"Mr. Reddington, and we here at the post office insist you take a paid vacation, you need it. I should get going, if you need anything you know my number. Bye Agent Keen."

"Thanks Cooper" I say as I hang up.

I run back up to the room, to find Don waking up. "Hi, I just talked to Cooper" I say smiling.

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"What did he say?" I say

"You and I are currently on a one month paid vacation, courtesy of the task force and Red." Liz says grinning

"Really, wow" I say shocked

"They want us to find a place to live while we are on this vacation" She says

I have always wanted to buy a house, but I wanted to wait until I found the right person to buy it with. I didn't want to buy a house and have it be empty. Audrey and i had talked about it but it obviously never happened. I know Liz is the one though.

Later that day I called a realtor to set up a day to go house hunting, then received a knock at the door of our hotel room.

"Hello Donald" Red had said

"Hi there" I say confused to why he was here. Was he here to check on Liz? It's not like he calls every hour to check up on her, I though sarcastically.

"I want to go with you, house hunting" Red said smiling towards Liz

"Um sure" Liz said shrugging her shoulders towards me

Days later Red, Dembe, Liz, and I met up with our realtor, who didn't show up.

"Oh yes I forgot to tell you I cancelled your appointment with the realtor." Red says smiling

"Wait what? Why?" Liz says frustrated

"Lizzy calm down, I have much experience in the house buying field. I can be your realtor!" Red says laughing

"What the…" I say

"This is our first stop" Red says as we pull into a private suburban neighborhood. Dembe pulls into a medium sized colonial house.

"Wow this is beautiful…" Liz says looking at the house

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Growing up I never lived in anything special. Sam and I always live in a small ranch. Two bedrooms and only one bathroom, which I quite frankly hated.

I stepped out of the SUV and walked up to the front door. Red had unlocked it and I stepped inside and saw a beautiful home. The color palette consisted mostly of browns and greys. There were hardwood floors and a large staircase with a balcony that overlooked the foyer and fireplaces in almost every room.

"Wow" Don says as he walks in

"I know" I say as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. "I love it" I say

"Good" Red says as he walks in to the house "I'm glad you like it, because here are the papers, it has already been purchased for you."

"Red" I say in shock "Oh my god"

"Reddington you didn't have to do that" Don says also in shock

"I wanted to, anything to make you two happy" Red says smiling

I ran over to Red and hugged him "Thank you, I'm truly so thankful"

"Speaking of being thankful, Thanksgiving is in 4 days, all of the furniture will be moved in by tonight and you can move in tomorrow. So it looks like Thanksgiving is here this year. Dembe and I will be here. Donald maybe I will be able to meet your family." Red said grinning to Don

"We are truly so thankful for this Reddington" Don said

We went back to the hotel for our last night there. I sit down on the loveseat in the room and tears start rolling down my face. Don rushes over to me, "What's the matter Liz?"

"I'm just so happy" I say trying to hold myself together, "A year ago I had nothing, no one. Now I have everything I could ask for and more. I have you and we have a house, a beautiful place to call home. We have only been together for 3 months and it has been the best 3 months of my life. In my 31 years living on this earth, this has been the happiest time of my life" I say laughing

Don takes me in his arms and kisses my lips and repeat what we did the other morning.

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The next day we got up nice and early and headed over to our house. It is weird thinking that I own a house. Even weirder that I own a house with the most beautiful girl on the planet. If I were to be told that on the first day of the task force I sure would not believe it. I wasn't fond of Liz when I met her. I was intimidated and jealous that the man I dedicated my life to finding was now turning himself in to her. I felt as if my whole life was taken down by this women. Obviously now I am so grateful that that had happened.

We hopped into my car and drove to the old apartment and gathered some stuff such as clothes. We walked into the door of the once clean apartment, now destroyed one and had flashbacks of what happened. There was blood all over the carpet. The chair Liz was strapped to was still in the same spot with blood surrounding it. Then blood across from it from when Red shot and killed Matthews. I had told Liz to wait out in the car. It would have been too emotionally traumatizing to see all of this again for her. It didn't even happen to me and it makes me feel like I want to cry looking at all of this.

I walked over to the coffee table where a picture of Liz and I sit from our first date I had planned for us, she was wearing that blue dress I bought her. Although the glass was cracked I still took the frame.

I walk towards the bathroom where I grab some of Liz's stuff. I gathered some of her makeup and stuff. Liz was a stunning woman; I will never understand why she needs makeup.

I walk into the bedroom we shared for the first two months of our relationship. I found another frame of Liz and Sam. I grabbed it. Liz looks about 14 in the picture and is fishing with her dad. I didn't know she knew how to fish, something I wish I did more often.

I emptied the closet and grabbed Liz's and my clothes. I packed them up along with our shoes. I emptied my bedside table which barely had anything in it. It contained a few pictures of my family and I, my nephew, and some of my favorite books.

I went over to Liz's bedside table which had some magazines, jewelry, and a picture of her old dog Hudson. I also found a bottle of pills. "What are these?" I said to myself out loud. The bottle said "Zoloft". I google searched it into my phone and they were anxiety and depression meds. I never knew Liz had an anxiety or depression problem. I am not surprised through everything that she has had to deal with, but I am surprised she has never mentioned it to me. I grab the bottle which is almost empty with three pills left and put it in my pocket.

I packed up a few kitchen belongings such as my coffee maker and blender, and headed out to pack the trunk. I got into the driver's side.

"Everything all set?" Liz asked with a smile on her face

"Yes it is. I am meeting my landlord at Starbucks to sign off the papers and give him back the keys to the place. I figured we could grab a bite to eat there before we go to the house." I say smiling hoping she wouldn't see that I was worried about her because I found the pills.

"Great. What's the matter?" She says. Shit I thought

"Well I wasn't trying to be snooping around, I was just packing some of your belongings, and I found these" I say pulling out the pill bottle.

"Oh, those are mine" she says looking down, "I wasn't trying to hide this from you it was just something I have been trying to deal most of my life and before we started dating it was worse because of Tom. I never really talked about it because I hate the man with every fiber in my body. It is better now since I have met you" she smiles, "But my psychiatrist still believes I should continue taking them for now." She says.

"I'm sorry. I was just worried. I didn't know if I had caused any of this." I say rubbing the back of my neck looking down on my lap

"Trust me Don, if anything you made me better. I have had anxiety my whole life. Ever since the fire, I have gotten nightmares from it. I barely slept when I was fourteen. Sam would take me fishing and it would make all of the anxiety go away. That's how I feel with you." She says grabbing my hand smiling at me

"Oh Liz," I say kissing her, "I never knew you liked fishing? I will have to take you with me sometime when I go up to my family's cabin in the woods." I say smiling

"Yes I do, and I'm not too bad at it either" she said winking at me.

We drove to Starbucks, Liz's hand was on my shoulder as I drove. I could see her smiling in the corner of my eyes. She is so happy. When Liz is happy, I am happy.

I returned the keys to my landlord and ordered Liz and me hot chocolate for this cool day.

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We dove to our new home. Red was already there. We walked in and he was in there sitting on the massive sectional couch. The fireplace was going and it smelt amazing in there.

"I cooked you both my famous beef stew" Red said

"You cook?" Don says

"It's one of my many useful talents" Red said

"The furniture is beautiful Red" I said admiring my house. There was a square dining room table in the dining room with cherry colored wood. The dining room had blue, cool toned colors in it. The kitchen had a coffee color scheme to it with blue accents. I walked into the living room where Red was. It again was very coffee toned with this time red accents.

"This is my favorite room" Red says, "Hint the red colored accents, I'm very clever like that."

I notice the grand piano in the room along with the music box Red had made me. Photos of Sam and I were hung up around the room. Then I also noticed photos of Don when he was young with his family.

"Don, you were adorable! Look at these pictures!" I say joyfully, "Is this one you in the ocean as a baby, BUTT NAKED?!" I say laughing

Don blushes and Red says, "That was my favorite, figured I would hang it up"

"Is this picture of me? I have never seen it before" I ask, I didn't have many picture of me as a child, I didn't know who my birth parents were so all I had were the ones Sam had given me.

"Yes it is, that is from the day you were born Lizzy" Red says

I sigh and smile. The house was so intimate and cozy and it seemed like we had already lived there for years. I walk into the study and find two desks with laptops opposite each other. I also see walls of books. I loved reading it was one of my guilty pleasures. "Some old books some knew. Some you may have already read but many you most likely have not." Red says

I walk to the back porch and see there is a hot tub and lots of land. Some chairs on the porch.

I walk back inside and check out the first bathroom which is very nice. I then walk up the stairs and go into the first bedroom, which would be Don and mine. It was a grey themed with yellow accents. A large fireplace and flat screen TV was on the wall. There was a vanity and a large dresser. A record player was also in the room with some of our favorite records. A picture of Don and I was hung up from our first date, where I wore the blue dress. Don walked in, "Wow this is nice". We walk into the master bathroom and see the huge bath tub and stand up shower.

We notice there are two other bedrooms in the upstairs. Both had beds in them for guest use, maybe if Don's family came to town, or maybe if Red slept over…. Which I doubt would ever happen. I laugh.

Don and I have never talked about having children for the future. I have always wanted to be a mother, but a chance of me having my own biological child was slim to none. When Tom and I were trying to have a child I had many fertility issues. So we were going to try to adopt. I would love a child of my own but adopting is just as fulfilling.

"I probably should get going, I have some business to attend to" Red says, "But I will see you both here on Thanksgiving next week!" Red walks over and hugs Don then give me a hug and a kiss, "Thank you for everything Red" I say, Red nods smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

Reddington left around 4pm that night. Liz and I were in _our_ house. A house we will be living in together. Someday after I marry her we will have children that will live in this house.

I never really have talked to Liz about children and if she wants any, I know she was in the process of adopting with Tom over a year ago, but I never knew if that was truly what she wanted. I have known for most of my life that I have wanted children of my own. People might take me as the guy who doesn't like kids but I actually like the innocence of a child. I work in a world where I see bad stuff happen every day; children are what give this world pureness.

I see my nephew often; I actually am excited to see him on Thanksgiving. We usually play baseball together when I see him. He is 8 years old. Red actually hung up his picture in our living room. I am his god-father along with my brother-in-law's sister as the god-mother. I miss my sister and her husband. He husband was actually my best friend growing up. My sister is pregnant again with my niece who is due around Christmas. I am happy for the both of them.

I walked into the kitchen to find Liz pouring some of Reddington's soup into bowls for us.

"Are you sure this isn't poisoned?" I say immaturely

"Why don't you find out?" Liz says laughing

We sat down at the dinner table together and ate the soup, which actually was very delicious. "Do you think Reddington put cameras in here to watch us? He always seems to know everything that happens between us so I wouldn't be surprised" I say laughing

"No but there is a large security unit for all the doors leading outside" she says laughing

Liz and I did the dishes and then I decided to go take a shower while Liz unpacked some of her stuff.

While I was in the shower I hear Liz and I turn around to see her, "Mind if I join you?" She says grinning

I kiss her soft lips; she wraps her arms around my chest rubbing my neck. I wrap my hands around her back rubbing her back sending chills down her spine. Our kissing continues as we shut the water off and make our way to the bedroom. I throw her on to the king size bed and keep on kissing her. She smelt like vanilla and lavender. She was so beautiful and she was all mine. Thinking about that made me smile through our kissing.

It was quite dark in our bedroom the only light was from the fireplace being on. The only sound we heard was the soft music for our record player playing some classical music.

She pulled at my hair and kissed my chest. Whispering in my ear, "I love you Donald Ressler". I loved hearing her say my full name and she knew that. I hoped someday she would become Elizabeth Ressler and I could call her that.

When we were finished we both fell asleep in each other's embrace, keeping each other warm on the cold November night.

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I awoke to the sunlight through our windows. Placing a kiss on Dons lips, I then got out of bed and went to shower, this time alone. I shampooed and conditioned my hair. Red must have bought shampoo and conditioner, it was a fancy French name and it smelt floral.

I got out and got dressed into some jeans and a sweater. I still had a few bruises from the whole Ronald Matthews incident but they were healing.

I went downstairs to make some coffee, the machine Red had bought was very technical to use but I eventually figured it out. I thought I was going to have to embarrass myself by calling Aram and asking how to use a damn coffee machine.

Don came downstairs wearing jeans and a flannel.

"Morning" he said kissing my head and grabbing his cup of coffee.

"Morning" I say smiling

"I had fun last night" Don says smiling

"Me too" I say blushing

I hear the door and all I can think is why is Reddington already back. I go to the door and see the person I thought I would never have to deal with again for the rest of my life. Tom Keen.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I thought Red told you never to see me again? Was that not clear enough for you?" I say slamming the door on his face running to Don crying and breathing heavily. I was having an anxiety attack.

"Who's at the doo… honey are you okay whats the matter? Don says grabbing me in his arms.

"It's… It's…. Tom…" I scream out with a cry

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Why the fuck is that asshole of an ex-"husband" here. I bring Liz into the bedroom and I tell her to stay there. I walked downstairs to the front door and saw Tom standing there.

"Oh I see you are her boyfriend?" Tom snarls at me.

"What do you want?" I say in a jerk-ish tone

"I want to talk to Lizzy" Tom says getting closer to me

"She _doesn't _want to see you" I say firmly

"Ginger I didn't ask you" Tom says "I'm not leaving until I talk to her"

"That's not happening" I say grinning then doing something I should have done a year ago when I first met this asshole. I punched him straight in the nose then in the gut.

"You wanna play like that pretty boy?" Tom says as he swings for my face

He hits me a few times then I hit him back twice as hard, punching and punching.

Blood lots of blood, wasn't sure if it was mine or his. Then I see Dembe pull up with Reddington.

"Ooo Daddy is here to save the day, huh?" Tom says

"Oh you're finished" I say giving him one more hard swing to the face, then bam Reddington shoots and kills him. Finally.

Liz must have called him I thought. Mr. Kaplan steps out of the car and starts to clean up the mess. I run up to check on Liz, who was basically having a panic attack when I left her.

"Liz, honey, are you okay?" I say out of breath

Liz was in the bed with her face in her hands sobbing, breathing heavily. Her sobs sounded like screams. I say nothing as I pick her up in my arms and lay with her in the bed.

"Shh, it's okay. Breathe in and out" I say rubbing her back with my hand. I could hear her calming down then she took her face out of her hands and wrapped herself around me.

"I…isss...heee…stillll…uhh..herrreee?" she said softly with tears streaming down her face, eyes red from crying.

"No he's gone, you will never have to worry about him again." I say kissing her forehead.

"Your face" She says gently wiping the blood from my face with her warm hands. She got up and took me by the hand to the bathroom and had me sit on the edge of the bathtub. She took a cold cloth and wiped the blood from the cuts and my nose. She rand and grabbed ice and placed it on my bruised forehead and nose. My lip was pretty swollen but she fixed that with a soft, warm kiss.

I wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged her. She then but some anti-biotic cream on my cuts to prevent infection, "Ow" I said hissing from the pain.

"I know," she said kissing me softly again. She grabbed my hands and looked me into the eyes and said "Thank you"

When she looked into my eyes, it was like I could see ever thread of pain she suffered from that man I just beat. I could see the sadness he caused her. I could see everything.

I just kissed her I didn't know what else to do.

"Everything is all set, Lizzy you may come down now" Reddington said

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I got myself together as Don and I walked downstairs. Red took me into his arms, "I'm sorry this had to of happen Lizzy. It's over and nothing of this will ever happen again." Red said softly

"Would you like some coffee?" Don said asking Red

"No I am all set thank you, I should get back to business. How was the soup?" Red asked

"Delicious" I say smiling

"Oh yes I forgot," Red says putting on his fedora getting ready to walk out of the front door, "I have a photo-shoot planned for you two today at 3pm, to get pictures to hang in your house and to give to your family next week on Thanksgiving." Red says smiling then leaving without allowing us time to protest against it.

"A photo-shoot?" I say laughing

"Yeah I know, I'm not really that photogenic" Don says running his hand through his hair

"And your face! It's all bruised!" I say making a sad face trying not to laugh

"Well I'm sure you can cover it up with your makeup you use" Don says laughing

"That's actually not a bad idea" I say smiling

"I was kidding but if you want to you can, just don't mention it to a soul" he says laughing

We headed upstairs to dress into something nicer than jeans and a bloody flannel.

"Should I wear the blue or grey sweater?" I say

"Blue, goes with your eyes better" he says grinning as he puts on his shoes.

He wore a grey button up shirt with dark blue jeans and I wore a blue sweater and black jeans with boots.

I went and put on some mascara and lipstick and combed out my already straight hair.

"Donnie come here it's makeup time!" I say belly laughing at the sound of it

I covered his black and blue on his forehead and his cuts were minimal and small that you wouldn't be able to see them in the picture.

The photographer, whose name was Vanessa, picked us up at 3pm and brought us to a farm down the street from our home.

We took many pictures most were of Don and I either holding hands or sitting close together, with pretty scenery.

"The pictures should be ready by tomorrow morning, I will drop them off in your mailbox" Vanessa says dropping us off at our house.

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"Well that was different" I say laughing hanging up my coat on the coat rack in the foyer.

"What would you like for dinner?" Liz asks

"Wanna order Chinese?" I say "I'll go pick it up."

"Sure sound good to me" Liz says

"I'll be back soon" I say kissing her goodbye

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When Don left I figured it would be a good time to explore the rest of the house. There was an attic and a garage, along with an unfinished basement that had really nothing in it besides some tools and boxes. I decided to check out the spare bedrooms.

I looked in the closet of the first one and found a box of my old toys from when I was little. Where did Red find these? When I moved in with Sam I was already too old for toys and that would mean he would have had to gotten this from my birth father. I opened the box and there was a note.

"Elizabeth here is a box of toys you enjoyed when you were a young child; I hope your children will enjoy them as much as you did"

It wasn't signed. I saw all my old toys. They don't make toys like this anymore so it will be nice for my children to experience some of my childhood too. That reminds me of a topic that I have to bring up with Don before our relationship progresses.

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I walked through the door of our house and yelled upstairs, "I'm back with the Chinese food"

I place it on the table and walk upstairs to find Liz in the spare bedroom with a bunch of toys on the floor.

"What are you doing?" I say smiling

"I found a box in this closet with all of my childhood toys from when I lived with my biological parents." She said, "And read this note"

I read and smiled, "Wow that's awesome, I wonder who brought them?" I had always wondered if Red was her birth father

"Let's go eat" she says taking me by the arm

During dinner we talked about our childhood.

"I really was quiet growing up, I didn't have any childhood friends. None that I remember anyways" Liz said

"I kept to myself too I guess. I was the boy with the straight A's every report card and worked hard on my grades." I said "I had my sister but that is pretty much it."

"I always wanted a sibling growing up" she said

"I liked having a sibling, I guess. We balanced each other out." I said

"When I was going to adopt, I thought about adopting more kids after. I wanted biological children but I was having difficulties getting pregnant. Glad I didn't though" she said laughing brushing off the serious topic. "Do you want kids, Don?" She asked quietly

"Yes, Liz I would love to have a family someday, I love watching my nephew grow up and someday watching my own children grow up, biological or not." I said smiling

Liz looked at me and smiled then grabbed my hand and rubbed it with her thumb.

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After dinner we watched a movie that was on TV in the living room by the fireplace.

"So what's the plan for Thanksgiving?" I asked "Will I get to meet this lovely family of yours?"

"Yes I invited them to come down and meet you." He said smiling "I invited my parents and my sister, nephew, and her husband, who happens to be my best friend from high school."

"That's great! Did you offer them to stay with us? We have plenty of room in this house!" I said

"Yup! They are planning on staying with us for a night." He said

"Great! I can't wait to meet them!"

"It's getting late I should probably go up to bed and ice my bruised face" He said

"I will be right up" I said

I walked up the stairs after putting the fireplace out and shutting down all the lights and locking the door.

I put on one of Don's over sized t-shirts and hopped into bed next to him.

"Goodnight, I love you" I say to Don

"Night, I love you too" Don says kissing me


	6. Chapter 6

Days passed of Liz frantically running around town getting things for Thanksgiving.

Monday: Liz took me shopping to find a new dress shirt and tie to wear. She also took me to a store to buy some more stuff for the house for the holidays. She picked up some nice dishes and also a tablecloth that had leaves on it, she thought it was very festive.

Tuesday: Liz took me to go shopping with her to find a dress for her to wear. After 12 stores she found one. Then we went to the toy store to pick up a toy for my nephew to congratulate him on becoming a big brother. She also dragged me to the baby store to pick up an outfit for when the baby is born. It was cute seeing Liz look at all the baby stuff.

Wednesday: Liz went food shopping for all of the food and started preparing all of it. Then she was running around the house cleaning it all. I watched the hockey game while she did that.

"Uhg, this needs to be perfect" Liz said frustrated at the mud stain that wouldn't come out of the rug in the foyer.

"It's okay, my family is not gonna care if there is a footprint on the rug. They are here to meet the woman I have been talking about for the past year." I say

"You told them about me even before we were together?" Liz says grinning

I blush realizing what I had said, "Yes, I have had a crush on you ever since you were captured with the Stewmaker." I say looking down to the floor.

"Donald, you are the best, you always know what to say" she says kissing my cheek then returning to her cleaning.

The house smelt really good. Liz was baking pies and cookies for tomorrow.

"Do you want to run with me to the liquor store? I want to pick up a new bottle of wine and some beer." She says grabbing her coat and putting on her black boots.

"Sure" I grabbed my coat and the keys

"I'll drive, you had two beers watching the game." She said smiling as I handed over the keys not arguing with her.

Liz and I really didn't argue about much. We were polar opposites in many things, but we seemed to even each other out. We had a small disagreement over all the money we spent on buying new clothes for Thanksgiving, but it was resolved when I saw how beautiful she looked in the dress she bought.

"So how was the game?" She asked

"Good, we won" I say "How is being Martha Stewart?" I said laughing

"You think you're so funny Donnie, don't you?" she said laughing

"Well I am" He said

We got to the store and Liz went and bought the wine and beer. After she paid I looked at my watch and noticed it was about seven and we still hadn't eaten dinner yet.

"Wanna go get dinner?" I asked "There is an Applebee's right down the road."

"Sure, I'm starving. It's tempting to eat all the food I made tonight" she said laughing

"Those chocolate chip cookies might have to have a taste test tonight" I say laughing

"You better not eat them all Donald Ressler or else!" She said smiling, I love when she calls me by my full name. It gives me goose bumps.

Liz pulled into Applebee's and I got out and opened the door for her. We got a booth and ordered.

"I'll take the Chicken Caesar Salad please" Liz said

"I'll take a the steak with potatoes please" I said

Liz took a sip of her pepsi smiling up at me

"What?" I say looking at her smiling at me

"I just love you that's all" She said smiling

"I love you too" I say winking at her

Our meals came and we ate. We talked more about what holidays were like when we were little.

"Sam would always take me to my Aunt June's house for Thanksgiving. I dreaded it. The lady would always pinch my cheeks so hard they were red for days. One time I saw her after I got my wisdom teeth pulled and she hurt my cheeks so badly" she said laughing, "the worst part is that I met her when Sam took me in when I was fourteen and she pinched my cheeks like I was four years old" she laughed shaking her head

"Haha, we always had Thanksgiving when I was little at my house. During the day was formal but as the night rolled on we were watching football, and sometimes family friends would stop by and we would tell funny stories all night" I said

"How long has your sister been married?" She asked

"Ten years, but they have been dating for almost 15, and friends for twenty." I say, "It was weird at first having my sister date my best friend, but it got more normal as the years went by. She's a year younger than you." I say

"What is your nephew like?" She asks

I laugh, "Basically like me when I was young. He acts more mature than I did thought" I say laughing

"I'm really looking forward to meeting them Don" She says

The check comes and I pay since Liz paid last time.

We got back into the car and drove home. When we got there Liz walked up the stairs and threw her jeans off and fell asleep.

"Okay then" I say laughing to myself

I put the alarm clock on for 7am so I could go get my family at the airport for 8. Then I took my shirt off and went to bed.

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I woke up to the alarm clock going off on Don's side of the bed. I kissed him good morning and jumped into a hot shower.

After I ran downstairs in my robe and put the turkey on so it could slowly cook all day.

I ran upstairs and got dressed in my maroon knee-length, long-sleeved, dress. I wore black tights with it and black heels. I threw my hair back into a braided bun. Then I put on some eyeliner, mascara, and red lipstick. Lastly I sprayed Don's favorite perfume I owned, which smelt like vanilla and lavender.

I ran downstairs just in time to see Don in his dress shirt and tying his tie to go to the airport to pick everyone up. Luckily the cars we drive for the FBI can fit everyone.

"Be back soon, love you" Don said running out the door as he put on his jacket.

"Love you" I yell back

I continue cooking everything, then light a few candles and the fireplace to make it seem more cozy. The football game is on the TV but muted and the record player is playing some old records. I hear a knock at the door.

"Shit, they can't be here that early" I say to myself

I go to the door and It's Red, which for once I am relieved.

"Happy Thanksgiving Lizzy," He says hugging me, "You look beautiful in that color dress" Red says taking off his coat and hanging it up. Dembe follows him in, "Happy Thanksgiving Agent Keen" Dembe says.

"Please call me Liz" I say smiling at him

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I get to the airport and see my parents.

"DONNIE!" mom says running this way crying. I haven't seen her in almost 9 months.

"Hi, mom," I say hugging her back as she kisses my cheek.

"Daaad!" I say giving my dad a hug

"How've you been Donnie?" Dad says

"Uncle Donnie!" my nephew says running towards me

"Oliver! You have gotten so tall!" I say hugging him

"Well look who it is? Long time no see Donnie" My _very _pregnant sister says as she gives me a hug.

"Hello there Danielle" I say hugging her back

"Donald you old son of a gun!" I hear my brother-in-law say as he gives me a hug

"It's been too long Jake" I say

Helping carry some of their bags I take them to the car.

"I can't wait to meet Elizabeth, Donnie" Mom says grinning, "What does she prefer to be called? Elizabeth, Eliza, Beth, Liz, Lizzy?"

"I call her Liz, but some call her Lizzy" I say referring to the only person who usually calls her Lizzy being Reddington.

How is my family going to react to spending Thanksgiving with number four on the most wanted list?

"Uncle Donnie, is she gonna be my auntie?" Oliver says and everyone else laughs, as I blush

"Oliver…" Danielle says

"So how is work Donnie?" Dad says

"Liz and I are on a month paid vacation due to both my apartment being demolished by a criminal and Liz almost being killed by that criminal." I say

"DON, you wouldn't have thought to have tell us this before, that this woman you love was almost killed in your apartment?" Jake says

"Don't worry guys I saved her" I say laughing at myself being cocky

Everyone laughs back "I also got her psyco-fake ex-husband killed" the laughing dies down.

"Wait what?" Danielle says

"Don't talk about it much with Liz but, basically the short story is she was married to a man who turned out to be basically an imposter. He was placed in her life by a criminal. He never really loved her and treated her poorly." I say, "Liz found out and long story short they got divorced and he was still making her life miserable. After he was told to never see her again, he showed up at our house a week ago and I got in a fight with him that should of happened when I met the guy. Hence the bruised forehead, anyways, me along with the only father figure in her life, killed him." I say out of breath

"Wow, Donnie I didn't know that. I can't picture you killing anyone." Dad said

"Well I have to kill criminals all the time for my job. Also I would do anything for Liz. Someone told her one time, and she told me, that when you love someone you have no control. I had no control on what I would do to that guy." I say as I pull onto our street.

"Here we are" I say

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"Red, oh my god there here, I am nervous" I say taking a deep breath

"You'll be fine" Red says

I open the door and see everyone

"Liz!" Don's mom says, "You're more beautiful in person!" She says hugging me, "Call me Julie by the way" she says as I hug her back

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" I say

"Elizabeth, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Donnie's dad, Peter" He says hugging me

"Same to you come on in!" I say

"Liz, I'm so glad I am getting to meet you! Donnie has been talking about you for over a year now. It's so good to see he's found someone! Especially one this pretty!" Don's sister says, "I'm Danielle by the way and this is Oliver, and my husband Jake" She says introducing them all.

"So great to meet you all!" I say smiling and hugging them all

I bend down to Oliver's level and hand him a gift. "This is for you because your becoming a big brother! Congrats!" I say handing over the gift bag

"Thank you! Uncle Donnie says you are going to be my new auntie!" Oliver says and I blush

"Oliver!" Danielle says

Then I hand Danielle the pink gift bag with the baby clothes in it, "For the baby" I say smiling

"You shouldn't have" she says hugging me with her free hand

Then Don walks downstairs from bringing in the last of their luggage upstairs to the guest rooms. I think it's cute that all his family calls him Donnie.

He walks over to me and says, "God you look beautiful" smiling, then giving me a kiss

I thought about what Oliver had said, blushing again.

We introduced Red and Dembe, they always seem to charm everyones socks off.

We ate dinner and mingled for a few.

"Dinner was truly delicious, Liz" Julie said to me.

"Thank you, It was my father's recipe" I say smiling

I wish Sam was here to meet Don.

Red got along well with Don's dad Peter. Don was talking with Jake catching up on life and I was talking with Danielle in the kitchen.

"Jeez, I am so glad Donnie met you. After Audrey passed away he never really came around anymore. He usually would try to get a plane ticket to come out and see us at least every other month, but now we haven't seen him in almost a year." Danielle said, "He talks about you like you're a shiny new toy. That's all he talks about when he calls. He loves you a lot, Liz" She says smiling

I smile back, it was nice to hear this from her. I already knew know he loves me but it's just nice to know he tells the world.

"Don was awful with girls growing up. He doesn't shake anymore does her?" She says cracking up laughing, "he use to shake when he got nervous around girls"

I laugh so hard it hurts, thinking about Don shaking or getting to nervous to function.

"Luckily that hasn't happened" I say still laughing

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"I missed seeing you buddy" Jake says

"I know it feels like an eternity" I say

"it's nice to see you this happy, I have never seen you _this_ happy before." Jake says

"I owe all the credit to Liz" I say looking down at my beer

"Well she really brings out the best in you Don" Jake says, "You think you'll propose anytime soon?"

I can't say I haven't thought about marrying Liz, I just don't know when she wants to. I would want to get married tomorrow if I could, but who knows if she would.

I remember the day Jake proposed to Danielle. He took her on a carriage pulled by horses and at the end of the ride got down on one knee. She obviously said yes.

"I don't know, I would love to, but who knows how soon she wants to?" I say shuffling my feet into the wood

"Well if you propose that doesn't mean you _have_ to get married tomorrow. It's basically just saying like 'hey I wanna marry you whenever you want'" Jake says laughing

I laughed back taking in his suggestion, "maybe while you're in town you can help me plan it." I said smiling

"Great" he said laughing, "Do you have a ring?"

"Um.. no" I said sighing

"Well women will like anything with a diamond on it, so we can go tomorrow to buy a ring." He said

I laughed, "Okay"

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I was talking to Julie and Danielle for a while. They were very down to earth people.

"Do you think Donnie will propose soon?" Danielle asked smiling

I really hadn't thought about him proposing yet.

"We have talked about being married but never getting married or engaged," I say smiling, "I hope he does though" I say shyly.

"Liz, sweetie, I would be surprised if he didn't have a ring yet, he has always been so prepared for everything his whole life." Julie said rubbing my back with her hand

I wonder if what Julie said was true.

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I took Danielle on a tour of the rest of the house and showed her where she would be sleeping.

"So Donnie, are you thinking about proposing to Liz soon?" she said smiling

"Um, you never know?" I say laughing

"I asked her if she thought that you would soon" she said

Trying to act calm because I was excited and nervous to hear what she had to say, "What…What did she say?"

"She said she didn't know, but hopes you will" she said smiling walking out of the room

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Deserts were on the table and Samar and Aram showed up for some. They were holding hands. I laughed because the task force brings more couples together than .

I hugged both of them

"Wow your house is beautiful, Keen" Samar said

"The security system is top notch, I know because Mr. Reddington called me when he was setting the house up for you two." Aram said

They stayed for about an hour than left because they had work in the morning.

"Well we miss you at work, can't wait to see you back soon" Aram said

Red and Dembe left shortly after

"Lovely day Lizzie." Red said, then he looked over to Don's dad and yelled, "Nice talking to you Pete!"

"Donald your father is a peach" Red said to Don

He hugged both of us and said he would be in touch. He asked Don to walk him out to the car.

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"I know a jeweler that can get you the most beautiful ring for Lizzie" Red said

Does this guy read minds or something?

"Okay, I was planning on going with Jake and my Dad to go get it tomorrow; you're welcome to join us." I say

"Splendid, Dembe will pick you all up at 9am." Red said closing the car door

When I got in my family was all saying goodnight to Liz.

"goodnight Donnie" my mom said kissing me

"Night son" Dad says giving me a hug

"Goodnight Uncle Donnie, thanks for the cool new action figures!" Oliver said after playing with his toys

"Night Don, we are still on for 9 tomorrow right?" Jake says

"Yes, Reddington will pick us up" I say

"Night Donnie" Danielle says hugging me

Liz and I head into the master bedroom and get undressed out of our nice attire. Liz hops into the shower and I decide to hop in with her, like she did to me when we moved in.

"Don, your family is her" Liz says blushing

"Shh, you talk too much" I say laughing then kissing her lips

If only she knew the plans I had for her in a few days. That soon she would be Mrs. Ressler


End file.
